Years In the Making
by EasyPeesy
Summary: A relationship like this could never happen overnight.


**One Week**

Phoebe hoped Leo would be home from the grocery store soon. She knew how hard it was for him to deal with the boys' endless crying, but she wished she wasn't alone with them. Paige was with a charge—Phoebe had a sense that Paige might completely crumble if she lost another charge on top of everything else.

Bouncing Chris and rocking Wyatt got no results, and after an hour, even a half-hearted spell did nothing. Phoebe wasn't really surprised, though. No spell was a match for the grief of two children who had lost their mother.

How was she going to handle this? How were any of them? How were the boys going to grow up, raised by two magical aunties and a mortal father? How was she—or Paige—or Leo—going to protect these children without Piper's fire power?

Wyatt orbed from the floor to the couch, where one of Piper's favorite blankets was neatly folded over the arm. He curled up against it, and Phoebe melted into tears of her own.

**One Month**

The dreams. Of course, they all dreamed about her, but Phoebe's dreams felt _real_. She saw Prue and Piper and their mom and Grams all standing in a circle, chanting. She wanted nothing more than to emerge in the middle of that ghostly circle, but all she could do was watch from afar. Memories from childhood would flash before her eyes, and alone, outside the circle, she had no one to share them with.

Sometimes Phoebe dreamed that Paige was dead, too, chanting in the circle, and that was even worse.

Sometimes Phoebe stayed up late watching Paige sleep, peeking in from the doorway. Sometimes she watched the boys. Sometimes even Leo. The pain seemed to lay over everyone like a dark, suffocating fog.

Phoebe could barely breathe with the fog pressing in all around.

**Two Months**

Phoebe saw Piper in the hallway and almost fainted. Could it be? Maybe somehow—or someone—or some_thing_—

She screamed, and everyone came running, and for an entire day they thought they had Piper back. But there was something off about this Piper, and by the time they realized that Wyatt had conjured her, Phoebe's heart had opened just enough to be broken again.

The look on Leo's face, after he convinced Wyatt to let her go…Phoebe's heart broke twice for him.

**Six Months**

Wyatt was smiling again, and Chris was becoming blissfully unaware as his young memories of Piper faded. Paige was beginning to balance life and white-lighting, not running herself quite so ragged to exhaustion. Leo no longer seemed like he was holding his breath, waiting for some proverbial shoe to drop, but there was a darkness in his eyes that Phoebe knew would never leave.

And Phoebe was done giving advice. Her second sabbatical had turned into a new column for someone else, and she was glad to be through with it. Now that they were down to the Power of Two, there just wasn't time. At least, that's what she told herself, although demons rarely attacked anymore.

The Charmed Ones had killed so many, thinned the ranks so much, that even Phoebe's passive powers, Paige's handy-but-not-deadly orbing abilities, and Leo's reputation kept the demons that remained far away.

And of course, there was no demon to get revenge on. The car that had slammed into Piper as she crossed the street had been junked, and that was all the revenge that any of them would get.

**One Year**

The first anniversary was beyond difficult. Paige's, Leo's, and Wyatt's pain, along with Chris's confusion, had driven Phoebe to the basement for the first time in a long time as she tried to escape their barrage of emotions. She wished her dad could have been there, but his pain was unreal. The fact that magic couldn't save his best girl from death was just too much for him.

Phoebe understood the feeling.

Later, when she came upstairs, she found Leo in the conservatory with a boy on each knee, staring at Piper's plants. They were yellowing and wilting around the edges—Phoebe knew she wasn't as good at keeping them thriving as Piper had been.

She sat down beside Leo and pulled Chris onto her lap. "Hi, big boy," she whispered, inhaling the fresh smell of his hair. "Auntie Phoebe loves you so much."

Leo squeezed his eyes shut. "I miss Piper," he said, his voice so quiet that Phoebe more felt the words than heard them.

"Tell me about it." Phoebe leaned her head on Leo's shoulder, and he leaned his head against hers.

For some reason, she thought of Cole at that moment. She almost missed him.

**Two Years**

How had they made it this far? Thank God for Paige, and for Leo, and for the boys.

It had taken this long before she realized that she was now the oldest sister. She hadn't thought of herself and Paige in those terms—it was only the two of them, after all, just the two Halliwell sisters, clinging to each other, terrified of losing what small scrap of family remained.

Paige had casually called her "Big Sis" and it hit Phoebe like a ton of fairy dust: She _was_ the big sister.

It was disconcerting. She confessed her feelings to Leo in the kitchen, and for the first time in what seemed like eons, he had some sage advice to offer. "You and Paige were destined to be the sisters left standing. We may never know why we lost Piper, but that was her destiny. We have to accept all of it. Embrace being the oldest sister." A hint of the old white-lighter-Leo smile. "The way you've embraced being a stand-in mom for your nephews."

"I could never replace Piper." Phoebe felt sick, overwhelmed, just uttering the words.

"No one expects you too." Leo squeezed her arm reassuringly. "Trust me, being Phoebe is enough."

**Five Years**

Paige called to say she was going to be late picking up the boys, so Phoebe detoured from her errands and headed toward the school. Leo was working full-time at his own custom-made furniture business, and Phoebe found herself home a lot. She didn't mind being the care-taker; she found plenty to do in keeping the Manor running smoothly and keeping the boys on track.

Sometimes Phoebe laughed when she thought about how often she'd bailed on Piper, leaving the everyday duties of running a house-hold to her big sister. Well, Piper had definitely gotten her revenge. Now Paige was the one bailing, but Phoebe didn't hold it against her; Paige was busy steering her many charges along the path of good.

Never in a million years would Phoebe have imagined this as her life.

She knew her cooking could never compare to Piper's, but she liked to think that Piper would have approved of her efforts.

**Fifteen Years**

Once the boys graduated from school, Paige left the Manor. She had found a man—a witch, at that—who helped her realize that she needed to slow down before she sprinted through the whole of her life. They lived nearby, and Phoebe had a twinge of hope for another set of nieces or nephews, but Paige and Pete seemed quite content to enjoy the freedom of childlessness.

Phoebe envied them, in a way. She was also childless, but had not enjoyed those same freedoms.

Now was her chance, though, right?

She knew she should probably move out of the Manor, but she was worried about Leo's empty nest. He was happier now than she had ever expected him to be after Piper's death, but without the boys, he would be very alone.

All these years, and no other woman could ever compare for him. Phoebe could sense it. He'd never even been on a date.

Phoebe cooked Leo his favorite meal the first night after Chris went away to school, and they had some wine by the fire, reminiscing about old times. It was as though Piper was right there with them, rolling her eyes with a few caustic comments thrown in for good measure.

It was comfortable between the two of them, even in the silences.

**Twenty Years**

Wyatt's new bride was stunningly beautiful, despite the fact that she was a blonde. By now the demon attacks had returned, but Phoebe and Paige sat back and let the boys handle it. They were more powerful together than the Power of Three had ever been.

After the vanquish, and then the wedding, Phoebe found herself dancing with Chris. It was rather strange to spend time with him now that he looked like the future-Chris who had traveled through time to keep Wyatt from turning evil. It was especially strange that this Chris had no memory of it—he hadn't had to time-travel, as Wyatt had never turned evil in this timeline.

Phoebe sensed it was hard for Leo sometimes, too, knowing that this was the same boy—and yet not—who had died in his arms so many years ago.

"So when are we going to get to see your wedding, Aunt Phoebs?" Chris asked, a teasing smile on his face.

"Oh, you know I'm a life-long bachelorette," Phoebe replied lightly.

"Then shouldn't you be getting some action?" Chris raised an eyebrow. "Or are you really just a life-long old maid?"

"That's a cruel thing to say." Phoebe swallowed, hard. It wasn't like she wasn't tempted sometimes, but the idea of being with anyone after so long…

It was hard to believe that the sexy little vixen she had once been had turned into an old maid.

"I'm sorry." She could sense that Chris really was sorry, and she just wanted to drop the whole thing.

"Don't worry about it," Phoebe said, a bit stiffly.

Chris frowned. "I know why, you know."

"Why what?"

"Why you're alone."

Phoebe was the one frowning now. "I'm the one with a degree in Psychology, Chris. I don't think I need your analysis."

"Well, you've got it." Chris gave her a look. "It's because of dad."

"My dad?" Phoebe furrowed her brows in confusion. "Chris, we made amends again years ago…"

"No." Chris shook his head. "My dad. Leo."

"Leo?"

"Come on. It's obvious how much you love him."

"Wh—but—Chris, _no_-"

"For an empath, you sure are dense about your own feelings." Chris laid a classic Piper eyeroll on her. "And Dad's."

"Don't say that—Chris, that is just wrong. Don't say that kind of thing!" Phoebe could feel her cheeks flushing.

"You know I'm right." Now it really did feel like Piper's gaze, the intensity in Chris's eyes pinning Phoebe in place. "You love each other. It's no big secret. Are you telling me you've never thought of it? That nothing's_ ever_ happened?"

"No—never-" But even as Phoebe said it, images rolled through her head: Half-naked glimpses of one another in the dead of night; looks between them that lasted a moment too long; kisses on the cheek, small touches, that lingered.

Phoebe squeezed her eyes tightly shut, but a tear leaked out. "How could I do that to your mom? I never would."

"Well, maybe you should." Chris pulled her into a comforting embrace—her sweet little nephew now so big. "Honestly, after all this time…I don't think Mom would mind." Lightly, he kissed her forehead. "You've given up so much for us, Aunt Phoebe. Don't you think you finally deserve to be happy?"

"Can I cut in, son?" Leo's voice was jovial, booming almost. Phoebe could feel the flood of joy Leo was riding at his oldest son's wedding.

"Sure." Chris leaned close to Phoebe's ear and whispered, "Think about what I said."

Then Phoebe was in Leo's arms. A man she had trusted implicitly as a white-lighter, cared for deeply as a friend, and loved as a brother-in-law. And now…what? He smelled nice, Phoebe though, strangely giddy. She had never allowed herself to dwell on that before.

"Think about what?" Leo asked, his hands resting casually on Phoebe's hips.

"Oh, nothing." Phoebe laughed, uncomfortably aware of his fingertips against her dress. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Oh, yeah?" Leo laughed in return and pulled her a bit closer. "Try me, why don't you?"

And then, out of the clear blue—after all these years—Phoebe felt it. It was like a box hidden within Leo had opened, and out of it flowed a steady stream of love…love for her. Love, gratitude, fear, guilt, longing, all mixed together…it was heady. It was overwhelming.

Phoebe was scared. Truly, gut-wrenchingly scared. She knew she would never be able to replace Piper. She didn't want to. She just wanted to feel content and happy and loved. She wanted to experience this love, right in front of her.

Leo's words from so long ago came back to her_. It's enough to be Phoebe. _

Phoebe tilted her face up to Leo's, and smiled.

Just maybe, it was enough.


End file.
